Finally, my XPS 1530 being replaced due to GPU fails!!

Dell tech just showed up to replace the LCD panel, he removed the keyboard, plugged in the LCD, and there's still no picture. Motherboard is shot. My warranty expires on Saturday and they'll be replacing the motherboard on Monday.

 

Dell Chat still not working for me. GAAAHHH!!!

Wow. That sucks. Hopefully your motherboard replacement works.

 

They're on the hook until it's fixed, even if my warranty is "expired"

 

See if you can get a Studio XPS 16 instead, the new motherboard will die prematurely as well.

 

Just got my approval for an exchange!!! WOOT!

So now that that's out of the way... This thread has helped me tremendously as far as first initiating the idea for such a solution to my frustrating problems of running CS:S at only 20fps :'(

Below is my story to how things went down as to contribute towards that which helped me: (be it a bit summarized as to not have the thread sound like a broken record)

I've had the m1530 for about 2 years now. Straight out of the box I had LCD problems bad enough to render it unusable. Talk about bad luck right?! Good news, I was still within the 30 day replacement window and I purchased the 4 year accidental warranty. Fast forward 2 years through 1 system replacement and 10+ technician visits and it'll lead you to the phone call that I had with Dell a few hours ago. The first lady I talked with was EXTREMELY pessimistic. I explained my situation and my frustrations and presented the idea of a system exchange, and immediately with a bit of a smirk she says, "I could contact my technical supervisor and put in your request for a system exchange, but I can almost guarantee you that it will be declined." So I then requested that I speak to her technical supervisor... and after about a cool 5 minutes she gets back on the phone and says, "Your system exchange has been approved so speaking to my supervisor is unnecessary at this point." --Insert Happy Dance Here!--

----------------

Sadly that's the end of the story lol. Sorry that it's not fun filled or exciting, but the good news is that was a decently short phone call with an amazing example of the ignorance of the subordinates of dell's technical support team. I can only thank those before me that have made this process for everyone as smooth as butter. (At least for me it was) So that brings me to the questions that I have about how things will progress going forward.

The technical support lady said that I'd most likely be receiving a Studio XPS 16, but she could not give any technical specs. Only that those technical specs will be based off of my current laptop's specs. So my questions to those who have received their studios is this: (my current specs should be in my signature)

Should I be getting excited for a substantial upgrade? Why?

Does the Studio 16 have any overheating problems like the m1530 does?

Everyone keeps praising this RGB LCD screen that the Studio 16 may or may not be equipped with. Is it really THAT amazing? It's not listed on Dell's website as an option for customization anymore, am I missing out on anything?

I have 2 batteries for my m1530. Will they fit in the Studio 16? (I carry 2 batteries in addition to the charger because outlets aren't always available in class)

 

@ Dreon. Congrats. The less fun-filled your story, the better it is for you. .

Now as for questions:
1) Look at my sig. and at what my M1530 was replaced with. Hopefully you get an even bigger upgrade than I did, because your m1530 specs are much better than what I had. However, what you get can depend on how lucky you are sometimes. I feel like I was sorta lucky .

2)The problem with the Studio XPS is not so much overheating as it is "GPU throttling." This depends on the exact configuration you have, as hotter component may cause the throttling. (GPU Throttling- your GPU's temps reach a certain temperature, 84C in this case, and the GPU reduces its "clock rate" to cool off, which leads to dropped FPS and slow-downs in-game). It occurs for me with my configuration in Bad Company 2, but it's not a guarantee that it would occur for you. Dell is still silent about helping folks like us who have the problem . If you don't game though, this system will give you none of those problems whatsoever.

3)The RGB is a fantastic screen, it's real quality. It takes some getting used to with the eyes, just to because it's so vibrant. Best screen I've ever used. I've also heard that the WLED is really good, but I can't tell you personally as the RGB is what I have. Either way, I don't think you can go wrong.

4)LOL for the batteries, because when I got my replacement I tried to fit my M1530s battery into it....sad to say, it didn't work. So that's a "no" for that one. You will most likely get a 9 cell battery with your replacement (granted you get the XPS 16). So when you get it, you can call Dell and tell them that you need a 6cell as well, which you had with your M1530. They should hopefully send one out to you (some people have had success with that).

Congrats on your replacement again, hope it all goes well.

 

The WLED is good but avoid AUO like the black blaque seems to be only good on the Sagers. Anyway, the AUO WLED i say both on the M11x and my friends 1645 were both so horrible and washed out my god! The RGBLED is awesome but my precision's m6400 rgled edge to edge LG's panel is far superior and brighter than the samsung one, that is currently on the new m6500, this machine and the M17x. I have had the Samsung screen before and boy it was great but its weakness is the reds and not that bright as the LG one but oh well they stopped using the LG one. Now i had te M1530 myself i still love it, i sold it but it played arkham aslyum at 1280x720 at amazing crazy fps.

 

i have an old xps m1530 that's screen has started to flicker. the original in-service date was 10/2008. The warranty extension for GPU failure should last until 10/2010 right? I can't get into Dell Hardware Support chat because it says my system is out of warranty.
How do I go about getting the replacement?

EDIT: On I talked to tech support and they want to send away my computer for repair. I don't really want it repaired, I want a new one. Oh well.

 

Thank you for your response, I'm excited about it.

2) Yea I'm hoping to play some games on it :/, guess it's time to invest in an amazing laptop cooler. (The one i have is a horrible $5 one)

3) I figured that either way it'd be a great screen, so I wasn't too worried about it. But everyone keeps going on and on and on about this RGB screen. So /pray still.

4)LOL! I knew someone else would have had to had tried the battery idea. I'm glad I got a good response on that one. I'll be sure to ask dell about sending an additional battery. Thanks!

 

Look into the Zalman NC2000. I've never used it, but I heard that is a really good one.

 

@Salami: I'll definitely be looking that one up.

**Bonus question.

Been reading on the forums about people exchanging their 90w adapter for a 130w one in order to overcome the throttling issues with the Studio 16 laptops with i7 processors. Should I be requesting the same? or has dell fixed things already.

 

I'd definitely suggest getting the 130w adapter. If it doesn't come with it, make sure you get a replacement. Do you play games or do a lot of intensive stuff?

 

Yea, I'll be playing games on it but nothing too too intense... CS:Source, Starcraft 2, Diablo 3 (when they come out). Also hoping to get into Video Editing but even so, not incredibly intensive.

So long story short... I should request the 130w adapter, and follow the rest of the suggestions given on the posts here. Thanks!... Again

 

the courier called today and said my new lappy is coming tomorrow! So excited!

 

got it today! Im pretty sure its new and it seems to be running quite well. I got the 130watt adapter too. My 3dmark06 score (1280x800):
7263 total
SM2: 2555
SM3: 3210
CPU: 3042

Does this seem normal? And i ran 3dmark06 with plugged in and on battery and got the same score pretty much...so i guess theres not throttling?

 

Congrats mrbee33 and everyone else with a successful replacement.
I signed up just a post a thanks to everyone in this forum, for you have helped me not only finally move for resolution of my ( now) 3 months dead "baby beast", but also have kept me same and gave me comfort and hope. Long story short, I was through 6 techs, motherboard/video card/ LCD/ palm rest replacements and finally a 7th tech just 2 days after laptop made it from repair depot. I could not access my hard drive for more then 2 months ( stuck in system, tech couldn't get it out and laptop would not power/ or would not boot). I was scheduled to send laptop back to repair depot 2nd day I had it ( for same issue) when I found this forum. I read through all pages ( until april 16th at least - and then read it again...Called customer service for business ( as I ordered through my employer) to see if my laptop was registered on their end as such. The rep saw the history of repairs and asked me if I would be interested in replacement isntead of sending the laptop to repair depot. Thanks to this forum, there is some light in my darkness. My order is still not made, but at least there is hope- 3 months later, with all my files lost (I know I should know better), almost lost my job& school troubles as I was not able to finish projects and homework, purchased another laptop for temporary use for school/work ( which just makes me miss my beast even more ), and hours and hours wasted on calling Dell, I am still able to smile as I hope this nightmare will end soon.
Well thanks for returning smile to my face...
I do, however, have question for everyone who got their replacement. Now that you played with your new toy, do you ever look back at your XPS 1530 and do you miss it. I think, I will, as it was first system I have ever bought/ custom made after my liking and wants.

 

I definitely miss my M1530. It had a keyboard that nothing I've used since compares to. I'm happier overall with the M11x though. I don't have to worry about the heat, and it feels sturdier than the M1530 (as do the Studio XPS 16s).

 

I read over all the 72 pages lol since I have a XPS M1530 which runs very hot.
So I called Dell and explained the situation, and as usual the rep gave the BS that they re-designed the Motherboard/GPU and told me they are going to replace it. Fair enough.

Next day I use the laptop and what I see is black vertical lines. Called dell again and turns out the LCD Inverter lamp isn't working so they are replacing the LCD too ! LOL

As I have read all over this thread, I am pretty sure the new motherboard/cpu/gpu are going to have the same overheating problem. They are replacing the motherboard tomorrow and I will keep an eye on the temperatures. And my warranty expires in 80days so I hope either this laptop works fine after this or I get some replacement before the warranty ends....

Some very good info by a lot of members in here and the OP " Cin' "

Edit: This is the second replacement of Motherboard/GPU and first LCD replacement. If the temps aint normal after this repair, I am going to escalate the matter!

 

When was your first mobo/gpu replacement?

 

It was done in Dec 2009, but the GPU problems started again Feb 2010. But since this laptop was with my brother he didn't get it replaced again back then.

PS: the specs on my M1530 are same as yours.

 

Alright. Thanks. I'm trying to argue with Dell that they didn't make any changes because people are still getting failures from recent replacements. Today my CPU hit 104C. It's so HOT!

 

Yep, they didn't change or re-design anything at all !!

You wont believe but If I just open a flash game like farmville on FB it hits 104C on the CPU.. That's crazy hot !

 

Yeah. I hit 70C easily browsing the net. And in the 90s once I start using any sort of flash including Youtube. I hit 104 today playing StarCraft. The game is 12 years old!

 

That's not acceptable at all. Like I am planning, you should also just tell them straight that it isn't acceptable and just escalate the matter to the supervisor or manager.

Either they should do a complete fix of my current laptop ( I love M1530's keyboard ) so it won't fail after every 2-3months or just give me something that will work!

 

If that's what simple things like watching youtube videos/using flash based application get it to, try out OE-Cake. It's a fun fluid simulator that isn't gpu accelerated.

 

Just an update on my XPS M1530 case.

Today had my motherboard replaced with a new one, and guess what? ! I do my first video encode and temps are normal on the CPU with full 100% load at 68C or so, and GPU was max at 73C but my PC still got frozen and screen turned blank. This happened twice. So, I went to Dell live chat and after explaining what happened and a wait time of 3 minutes, the agent told me I was approved of System exchange with Studio XPS 1640!

Will call or chat in two days to check the status about it.

 

ALRIGHT!!! Nice. It was just a matter of time. Good thing it failed before your warranty ended. You should be getting a pretty good replacement if your specs are the same as mine.

 

The build quality, screen, and thermal design all were nice when I had a 1640, but it did throttle. That was with a T6600 and a 3670. See if you can get them to give you a 1647, since the chances of the 1640 receiving a bios update and a new psu to remedy this are pretty slim.

Even if you do get stuck with a 1640, at least it will be less prone to failure than the M1530.

 

I see. I did ask them to make sure that the GPU is 4670. I did try a "little" for the 1647 or M15x but its alright! I will probably sell the 1640 and get Sony. But Thanks to Dell that at least they are replacing my burning hot M1530! I will miss the keyboard though :S

EDIT: Sirhcz0r, do you know how I can check if its throttling? via CPU-Z? any help would be nice since I wanna make sure that I get one that doesn't throttle ! Thanks in advance

 

Run Prime95 and Furmark simultaneously with hwinfo32 open. If the green bars indicating cpu multiplier in hwinfo32 can't stay full, it's throttling.

Prime95

Furmark

Hwinfo32

 

Awesome! Thanks a lot ! Will definitely test this and "if" it throttles, it will be going back

 

Grat's on your "new arrival" How is the lappy working out for you?

Glad to hear you got approved for a replacement 1640!
The time I had my 1640 (less then a month)..I had no issues with it. Now, my replacement 1647 seems to be working out fine. My only issues have been some "intermittent" BT Connectivity issues..but those have been easy fixes!

I haven't been around much this week....any updates with you?

Cin...

 

I see. Well if it works fine and provides the same or better power than my current M1530 then I have no problem , but I might sell it and get a Sony or something.. but will see about that.

Can I ask you that what problems made you switch to 1647 ?

 

I hope you won't have any problems with it!! I guess I'm one that trys to have a good outlook on things! (most of the time, anyways). : ) I do miss my 1530 sometimes (cept for the GPU issues)...

OOhhh...why did I switch to the 1647? Well, I had a little "accident" with my 1640. It kinda had a *accidental landing*..(dropped). And, due to the repairs that my Complete Care/Accidental Coverage would cover..Dell decided to be nice & replace with another lappy. Somehow I got lucky and got a 1647! I was just expecting another 1640!!

Cin...

 

Ahhh, accidental warranty!

Yeah I am also hoping that I wont have any problems with it since I don't wanna keep waiting for replacements and wasting time

I will call Dell tomorrow to make sure the exchange is showing up on their system

 

I haven't been able to do anything lately. School's been pretty much controlling my life. Chat is STILL not working. And email is a dead end. Unresolved issues just resulted in them calling me twice.

 

Yep, that Accidental Warranty does/did pay off!

Think positive, I would hope you won't have any problems with it..(and you have your warranty to help you out, if you do). : )

Get them on phone/Chat tomorrow, to followup and see how things are proceeding for you. And, you can also check your Account online to see if anything has progressed!

Sometimes the replacement can take up to 3-4 weeks to get completed and in your hands. Then again, others have received it much sooner! : ) Both times for me, it has taken about 3 weeks.

Ohhh Well, school is important...And, should be over soon, then you can concentrate on getting your lappy issue resolved. Or, do this a bit whilst still concentrating on your classes!

Remember, you still have that option of e-mailing the "higher ups".

Cin...

 

That method was just for checking to see if your cpu is throttling. To see if the gpu is, run Prime95 and Furmark, but also run GPU-Z. Go to the monitoring tab and if the frequencies drop periodically the gpu is throttling.

Like Cin said, this sort of stuff may not even make a difference for you, but it really depends what you'll be doing with the laptop.

 

got it. Thanks for the tip, will definitely do it.

Well, I will be using it mostly for video encoding, AutoCAD, PS.


Edit: @ Cin': you check the status online by going into the account and then into "Support History & Status" ??

 

The effect of throttling on AutoCAD and Photoshop will be negligible, but the video encoding may be adversely effected. It's been a long time since I worked with videos at all; does the encoding process keep the cpu at one hundred percent usage?

 

Yes, you can check in (What you referred to above) "My Account" > Recent Order Status > or/Support History & Status.

And, you can also check: My Support > Service Call Status > History of Support Requests/or /Service Call Status > Choose Criteria: You can enter your: Service Tag, Express Service Code, Support Request Number, or Customer Number > Then Submit..and it would pull up pertaining information.

Cin...

 

Yes, while encoding the CPU cores are at 100% usage.

Perfect! Thanks a lot

 

I would like your input. I just received an update email to let me know that I won't have an order # at least until tuesday. I'm not sure if it's just me, but seems like this is getting way too long. I have received dispatch # same night I was aproved for replacement (I had extended 1 day/weekend waranty and also accidental warranty) which was April 16th. Just 2 days before, I have received laptop back from their repair depot where it was for 3 weeks. ( due to a part being on back order). Do you think that emailing higher ups could speed up my process, as the laptop came defective from repair depot or should I just continue to bite my nails and wait? Basically my laptop was dead since march 15th (first repair was on february 13th)? Also who should I email, as my emails from the rep are always" we're sorry for long wait...BUT..? Thanks in advance for any suggestion?

 

I would definitely say to contact the higher ups or press to talk with manager since it took so much time in repairs and even now you dont have a working laptop!

 

Just get it escalated. It will come faster usually.

 

I have read all posts, and still I am a bit unsure if "to escalate" means to email higher-ups or it means to got through unresloved issues link. Thanks again for all support.

 

Call in(I know, you will need to set some time aside for this) and basically ask to be escalated to their manager and so on until you feel satisfied.

 

Thanks guys ..it's friday evening and I have nothing better to do... Making coffee and grabbing the phone...(humming the " x filess" music) . Will let you know what happened.

 

Good luck!!!!!

 

Its working out pretty well. First impression...damn this thing gets hot. Playing empire total war it gets to low 80s in gpu and cpu. I ordered a cooling pad because of the throttling that occurs when the temps hit the low 80s. But either than the throttling i am quite amazed at the performance. Left 4 dead never looked so nice as it does on full 1080p and highest settings at ~60fps. However, it can only do this for like 30 min before it downclocks every couple min to lower the temps.

Hopefully, the cooler i ordered will solve this problem, if not hmm...dunno what ill do.